


Run Here

by ziskandra



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Fantasy, Happy Ending, Marriage Proposal, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26358187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziskandra/pseuds/ziskandra
Summary: Much to the dismay of her mother, Princess Cassandra wishes to elope with her lover. Her lover has other plans.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Sword Lesbian Princess/Sword Lesbian Princess From Rival Kingdom
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19
Collections: We Die Like Fen 4: We Lived to Die Afen





	Run Here

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Val_Creative](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Val_Creative/gifts).



Cassandra’s mother followed her across the courtyard, heels clacking against the flagstones in a frustratingly pleasing rhythm, a reminder that her mother was everything she was not: feminine, graceful, beloved. “Where do you think you’re going?” her mother yelled as Cassandra sped up, slamming down the visor of her helmet. “You’ve a new suitor today, who’s travelled a long way to meet you. This is how you repay him?”

Squaring her shoulders, Cassandra continued walking. Twenty more seconds, and she would be at the stables, and then she would be able to mount her steed and run away from this place. It was still too early in the morning for there to be much activity in the castle, and she wasn’t expecting to come across anybody else other than her infuriated mother and perhaps a stablehand or two.

The figure waiting for her as she made her final approach was certainly no stablehand. She would recognise that armour anywhere. Her love! But what was she doing here? It was not safe for them to be together like this, daughters of two warring kingdoms. Cassandra felt the protective urge to gather Sophia in her arms and whisk her far away from this place, somewhere they could be less (but more!) than their titles.

As Cassandra came to a halt, her mother inhaled sharply behind her. “A spy!” she squawked. “An Ambrosian spy!”

Finally, Cassandra felt the unfortunate need to talk to her mother, refute her ridiculous claims. “Shut up, mother,” she snapped. “This is… ” She had started so strongly and yet had failed at the most basic of hurdles. How could she define what Sophia meant to her? That she would follow her off the edges of the world if she so desired?

Sophia took a step forward. Cassandra heard her mother stumble hastily backwards behind her. Typical. The first sign of any danger – real or imagined – and Mother was using her as a human shield. She had always criticised Cassandra for her so-called ‘dalliances’ with ‘men’s work’, but she certainly knew how to take advantage of her daughter’s training when the time came.

The highlights in Sophia’s dark curls that spilled down to just below her ears glittered in the rays of early dawn and the orange flush of the sky cast by the rising sun suffused Cassandra with a peculiar sort of warmth which she could not name; instead, she distracted herself by admiring the sharp angles of Sophia’s cheekbones. Her lover was the most beautiful woman in the world.

But why was she _here_?

Sophia continued to advance slowly, and to the (albeit limited) credit of Cassandra’s mother, she did not withdraw any further, instead cowering behind her daughter, the shield. “Your Majesty,” she began, curtseying low as was the custom. It struck Cassandra as strange, like watching a cat try and walk on two legs. She didn’t think she’d ever seen Sophia _curtsey_ before. “I’ve come on this day, the fourth day of the harvest season, to ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Cassandra’s first instinct was to laugh, because surely, she couldn’t have heard that correctly. Ask for her –

Oh. As she looked at Sophia, her neck still curved, she realised her lover wasn’t joking. That this was … Gods. They’d talked and talked about the differences in their kingdoms’ culture, but surely Sohpia saw the obvious flaw in her plan?

Mother did. Of course she did. As soon as Cassandra felt her mother stiffen behind her, she knew what she would say. “But you’re a woman,” Mother remarked, dumbfounded, and although Cassandra certainly wasn’t going to bother turning her head to look at her properly, she could just imagine the look of sneering incredulity on her face.

Sophia shrugged her shoulders, the clang of metal that accompanied the movement discordant yet beautiful. Now, there was a sound filled her with love and adoration. Perhaps her mother would never understand her, but Cassandra had all the approval she needed right here. Hadn’t that been her hare-brained plan all along? Ride her horse as hard as she could along their border with Ambrosia, until she found a weakness in their country’s defences, so she could sneak in, find Sophia and run?

When she reflected on her decisions, it was obvious. Cassandra had always been hot-headed, the type of woman to shirk duty where it did not suit her. Sophia… Cassandra did not know how she did it, but she approached her commitments with aplomb. Made them work for her in her own special. Cassandra had attempted to run away. Sophia had instead run _here_.

Cassandra found her voice deep within herself, hidden in the place where she so often buried it. It boomed out of her lungs, rung in her ears, louder than she’d anticipated. “I accept.”

Behind her, Cassandra’s mother let out a wail. “Oh, you mustn’t, you _can’t_.”

Having finally had enough, Cassandra whirled around to face her mother. Before she quite knew what was happening, her hand found the hilt of her sword. “Watch me.”

It wasn’t as though she ever intended to actually swing her weapon, but it was comforting to react in the way she had been trained to approach a threat. “You…” Mother started, and although Cassandra expected to see her usual rage in her eyes, she saw only sadness coupled with a bewildering sense of longing.

“If I may,” Sophia interrupted. “This could be a strategic union for both our kingdoms. We are both our parents’ only children.” Her hand reached for Cassandra’s, and Cassandra accepted it eagerly. What she would give to be able to feel her lover’s skin against hers right now! Still, there was again, that comforting scrape of metal. “Who knows how our marriage might inspire the people?”

Sophia always had a way with words that Cassandra envied. She wished to soak them up, let them sweep all over and through her body, into her bones.

Mother’s lips pursed as she stared at Cassandra. “We’ll have to talk to your father about this,” she said, and Cassandra knew that would just be the tip of the iceberg. There would be questions, to be sure. Mother would want to know just why she’d been cavorting around with an Ambrosian in the first place, as if she could ever resist Sophia’s allure. Father’s queries were more likely to be the practical sort. Plotting. Planning. Politics.

On an ordinary day, the mere thought of such conversations would feel Cassandra with dread. But not today.

Even if the road ahead of them was fraught with obstacles, there was a chance she might have a happy ending after all.


End file.
